This invention relates generally to controlling an inventory of items using computers.
Various techniques exist for providing computerized inventories. For example, bar code scanners may be used to scan bar code labels on items to maintain an inventory of items. Separate bar code scanners may thereafter be used to record when an item has left the inventory. For example, in supermarkets, bar code labels are provided on food items which can be scanned by a bar code reader. At the checkout counter, the items are scanned for pricing purposes. The scanned information could be used to provide inventory information.
There are a number of applications where maintaining an inventory is of considerable importance. In homes, it may be desirable to maintain an inventory of food supplies and particularly to keep minimum levels of certain food items. In an office setting it may be desirable to maintain a given supply of office supplies such as pencils, pens, paper and the like. In a manufacturing operation, it may be necessary to maintain a given supply of parts to enable the assembly line to continue to operate. In all these cases and others, the control of inventory may facilitate the completion of tasks. However maintaining an inventory may be made more complex because various people may have access to the inventory storage facility and therefore no one person may be aware of what is the current inventory.
Thus there is a need for techniques for allowing better control of the inventory maintained at storage locations and accessed by multiple users.